Celebrating 100 Years of Success
by Julie Deden
From the Editor: Most of us know that Julie Deden is the director of the Colorado Center for the Blind. What may be less clear is who she is as a person. Julie has a son who is twenty-five years old. Dan Burke is her husband, and they married in 2016. She loves to read and go on long walks. She is as kind and gentle a person as you are likely to find, and her sense of commitment to everything she touches is evident. Here is what she has to say about the American Action Fund, an important anniversary, and a fine celebration to commemorate it.
Do you know when the American Action Fund began distributing free Braille calendars? When you think about the American Action Fund, you probably think about that Braille calendar you’ve been receiving for so many years, or maybe you think about Twin Vision books. The latter is a story in itself, one we told at length in the May 2013 issue of the Braille Monitor.
In 1919 the American Brotherhood for the Blind was founded by Florian Baker, a member of the Theosophical Society. His intent was to universally serve all blind people. At that time there were few programs for blind people, and it was nearly impossible to obtain any kind of Braille publication outside schools for the blind.
One hundred years later, now known as the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults (AAF), this organization has distributed thousands of Twin Vision books to blind children and adults, provided Braille books, and most recently has provided drawing kits to blind children so that they can create and access visual images tactilely. These are just a few of the programs that the American Action Fund has sponsored in the last century.
Help us celebrate the AAF’s centenary at our National Convention in Las Vegas. Immediately following the Braille Book Fair, we will host a carnival for everyone where you will learn more about the American Action Fund and its rich history, hear about other exciting programs that the Fund sponsors, and visit several booths to play games, win prizes, and meet special guests. We hope you are one of them!
Who knows how long the Action Fund have been producing calendars? We won’t make you wait till Las Vegas for the answer: they were first produced in 1964.
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